Insta-love. Too much romance, not enough magic

I dragged my way through this book. It took me till about halfway through to get into it. Half the book is a romance. No, strike that. It's an insta-love attraction where both parties pretend indifference and then say they'll never love another person again cuz they were betrayed in the past, etc blah blah. So we spend a great part of the book staring at each other and building up to the Moment they can finally let go of their old pain... Very original, right?

I can deal with a good romance. But I hate when characters mistake lust for love. You don't love someone because they're dark and mysterious or because they're spunky. That's called intrigue and lust. Please don't mix them up until you have time to build a real relationship with the other.

Romance aside, the beast magic parts were pretty interesting. I wish each best got more screen time and more character. Charming the beasts were probably the best parts of the book. The rest could've been left out.

If you want an instant love romance that takes time to cook because boy and girl are pretending to be not interested cuz they have Deep Secrets, enjoy this book. If you want to read the good beast taming parts and skim through the annoying other stuff, it's doable and can be enjoyable too.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.